Funding for TB Research: Recent Momentum Must Inspire Bold CommitmentsSeptember 24, 2018 – In advance of the first-ever United Nations High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis (TB), a new brief from Treatment Action Group (TAG) — Funding for TB Research: Recent Momentum Must Inspire Bold Commitments — shows that global funding for TB research and development (R&D) reached a new high of USD $767.8 million in 2017.

TAG Mourns the Loss of Mathilde Krim, PhDJanuary 16, 2018 – TAG mourns the loss of an inspirational, tireless, catalytic leader of our movement. Dr. Krim understood the gravity of the epidemic, in its earliest and darkest days, and was driven by her own remarkable intelligence, fierce commitment to civil rights and social justice, extraordinary social and political networks, and true grit to galvanize funders, scientists, policy leaders, and activists toward a single cause: ending HIV and AIDS as a threat to humanity.

Hasty Passage of the Tax and Health Care BillDecember 21, 2017 – With the hasty passage of the tax and health care bill passed along party-lines yesterday afternoon, Congress has sent a clear message on how they prioritize communities living with, and vulnerable to HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the upcoming mid-term election year.

TAG Statement on Forbidden Words in Budget DocumentsDecember 20, 2017 – Treatment Action Group (TAG) joins the chorus of rational voices expressing outrage at reports that HHS agencies have received instructions to avoid words unpalatable to the Trump administration in their budget requests.

Changing World Health Organization Global TB Program LeadershipDecember 1, 2017 – TAG's Executive Director, Mark Harrington, congratulates Dr. Mario Raviglione on his retirement and thanks him for his efforts and the years of collaboration while he was director of the World Health Organization’s (WHO's) Global TB Program.

HIV Activists Seek to Accelerate Development of Immune Enhancing Therapies for Immunologic Non-RespondersDialogues with FDA, scientists and industry encourage consideration of orphan drug designations for therapies to help the immunologic non-responder population and exploration of novel endpoints to reduce the size of efficacy trials.November 30, 2016 – A coalition of HIV/AIDS activists are calling for renewed attention to HIV-positive people termed immunologic non-responders (INRs), who experience suboptimal immune system reconstitution despite years of viral load suppression by antiretroviral therapy. Studies have shown that INR patients remain at increased risk of illness and death compared to HIV-positive people who have better restoration of immune function on current drug therapies. Risk factors for becoming an INR include older age and a low CD4 count at the time of treatment initiation. To date, efforts to develop immune enhancing interventions for this population have proven challenging, despite some candidates from small companies showing signs of promise.

Funding for Tuberculosis Research Falls to Lowest Level in Seven YearsLIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM, OCTOBER 25, 2016—Tuberculosis (TB) killed 1.8 million people in 2015, making it the most deadly infectious disease worldwide, but funding for research into better TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment dropped by US$53.4 million, according to a report issued today by Treatment Action Group (TAG). In 2015, the world spent US$620.6 million on TB research and development (R&D), the lowest level of funding since 2008. This marks the second straight year that funding for TB R&D has fallen, raising doubts over whether world leaders will fulfill recent promises to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and eliminate TB by 2035.

TAG Welcomes Delamanid’s Inclusion in the Stop TB Partnership’s Global Drug FacilityFebruary 24, 2016 – Treatment Action Group (TAG) congratulates the Stop TB Partnership and Otsuka Pharmaceutical for arranging for the inclusion of delamanid, an important new medicine for treating some cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), in the Global Drug Facility (GDF). TB is the leading infectious cause of death globally, and new medicines to treat drug-resistant strains of TB are urgently needed. TAG commends the GDF and the Stop TB Partnership for their leadership in securing access to delamanid with minimal barriers and at a single flat price for all Global Fund-eligible countries.

Treatment Action Group hails Governor Cuomo’s proposed legislation allowing minors to maintain confidentiality when obtaining HIV treatment or preventive therapyFebruary 11, 2016 – "Governor Cuomo continues to provide globally unprecedented leadership with New York State's plan to end AIDS as an epidemic by the year 2020,” said Treatment Action Group executive director Mark Harrington. “With today's announcement that he will submit legislation allowing minors to consent to receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to treat or prevent HIV infection, New York State moves closer to achieving an AIDS-free generation in this decade. Treatment Action Group salutes the governor's sustained leadership in these efforts and calls on state legislators to rapidly and unanimously pass this lifesaving, infection-averting legislation to end AIDS and HIV acquisition among our state's youth."

TAG’s Response to the U.S. Action Plan for Combating Multidrug Resistant TuberculosisJanuary 7, 2016 – Treatment Action Group (TAG) welcomes the release of the Obama Administration’s National Action Plan for Combating Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis. Strengthening the domestic and global and research efforts to address multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are critical to ending the suffering this preventable, curable disease needlessly causes. However, the targets set forth in this plan are not ambitious enough to effectively stop the spread of MDR-TB. The Administration and Congress must appropriate funding levels to ensure that the U.S. can effectively address MDR-TB.

Tuberculosis Research Funding Crisis Imperils Elimination GoalCAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, NOVEMBER 30, 2015—Worldwide funding for tuberculosis (TB) research fell $1.3 billion short of global targets in 2014, according to a report released today by Treatment Action Group (TAG). Total funding of US$674,036,492 in 2014 amounted to barely one-third of the US$2 billion experts estimate the world must spend on TB research and development (R&D) each year to eliminate TB. Alarmingly, funding for TB drug research fell by US$25 million compared with 2013. Overall, funding for TB R&D fell by US$12 million.

ACT UP\New York and TAG to Host Town Hall Meeting to Discuss Drastic Cuts to City’s HIV Testing and STD Screening Programs NEW YORK CITY –AUGUST 31, 2015– In response to disturbing trends in New York City’s response to the ongoing HIV and STD epidemics, ACT UP\New York and Treatment Action Group (TAG) will host a town hall meeting at the New York City LGBT Center on 13th Street in Manhattan at 6:30 PM on September 1, 2015. ACT UP and TAG seek to push the de Blasio administration to mitigate the massive citywide reduction of sexual health services in recent years, including the March 2015 closure of the Chelsea STD Clinic.

Gilead: Stop Blocking Access to Hepatitis C TreatmentThousands of activists urge company to change its policies on eve of shareholder meetingNew York, May 5, 2015—On the eve of pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences’ annual shareholder meeting, thousands of people who have hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HCV/HIV coinfection, with their allies and physicians, have demanded that Gilead change its policies that deny access to treatment for millions of people in developing countries.

Governor Releases Blueprint to End AIDS in NYS by 2020April 29, 2015 – New York, NY– Governor Cuomo formally accepted the long-awaited Blueprint to End AIDS at a public event on Wednesday, marking an important step towards fulfilling his commitment to end AIDS in New York State.

Governor Cuomo’s Ending the Epidemic Task Force Completes Plan to End AIDS in NY State by 2020– Activists, service providers, public health professionals hail governor’s leadership, call on legislators and local governments to join forces to end the epidemic – ALBANY, NY – JANUARY 13, 2015. Today the Ending the Epidemic Task Force, convened by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) at the behest of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, completed its comprehensive, rigorous, and unprecedented Plan to End AIDS in New York State by 2020.

Activists Urge Otsuka to Provide Access to TB Drug—Only a handful of patients have received Otsuka’s new drug, delamanid—BARCELONA, SPAIN, October 30, 2014 — Tuberculosis (TB) activists interrupted Otsuka’s symposium at the 45th Conference on World Lung Health, calling for widespread registration of and immediate broad compassionate use access to delamanid, Otsuka’s new drug to treat multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).

NYS Ending Epidemic Task ForceNew York, New York – October 14, 2014. Treatment Action Group (TAG) welcomes today’s announcement by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) of the Ending the Epidemic Task Force to more fully develop Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Plan to End AIDS as an epidemic in New York State by the year 2020.

Activists Hold Die-In to Protest High Price of Gilead’s Hepatitis C DrugMELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, July 24, 2014 – Treatment activists at the 20th International AIDS Conference held a die-in to protest the exorbitant pricing of Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), Gilead’s new hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug. As Gregg Alton, Gilead’s Executive Vice President of Corporate and Medical Affairs, spoke, activists brought him a liver on a silver platter while chanting “Pills Cost Pennies, Greed Costs Lives,” “Shame, Shame, Shame,” and “Pharma Greed Kills.” Their signs said, “Wanted: Crimes Against Access,” “Hep C Criminal,” and “Gilead Kills” as the O’Jay’s “For the Love of Money” blared in the background.

Treatment Action Group Commends Governor Cuomo for Launching Historic New York State Plan to End AIDSTAG Calls on Governor to Expeditiously Appoint a High-Level Task Force to Develop Blueprint to End AIDS Deaths and Halt New HIV InfectionsJune 29, 2014, New York, New York– Treatment Action Group (TAG) applauds Governor Andrew M. Cuomo for his full support of a historic community-developed plan to end the AIDS epidemic in New York State by 2020, as announced this morning by the Governor’s office and reported in today’s edition of the New York Times (“Cuomo Plan Seeks to End New York’s AIDS Epidemic,” Anemona Hartocollis, page A18). With this bold initiative, New York State—long the epicenter of the nation’s HIV epidemic—becomes the first jurisdiction anywhere in the world to publicly declare a goal of ending AIDS as an epidemic with the launch of a comprehensive effort to end AIDS deaths and halt new infections by employing state-of-the-art testing, preventive technologies, treatment, and supportive services.

ACT UP to Tom Frieden: You’re MIA on HIVNew Infections on the Rise in Key Subpopulations, Despite Options for PreventionJune 9, 2014 – Members of ACT UP NY, along with Treatment Action Group (TAG) and Atlanta allies, will meet with the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)’s HIV prevention personnel in Atlanta, GA. ACT UP will call upon the CDC to meet its commitment of keeping all Americans healthy and to act now upon the promise of TasP, PrEP, and PEP, address social and structural barriers to lifesaving prevention options, and reduce the transmission of HIV in those groups where the incidence is rising.

Treatment Action Group Applauds European Approval of New Drug to Fight Tuberculosis, Demands Expanded Access and Affordable PricingNovember 22, 2013— Approval of and access to delamanid are crucial while further research is pending —NEW YORK, NY, USA – Treatment Action Group (TAG) congratulates the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for its recommendation to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to grant marketing approval to delamanid, a new drug for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) now in phase III clinical trials. MDR-TB treatment options that do not include new drugs are long, toxic, difficult to tolerate, and often ineffective.

Treatment Action Group Criticizes European Refusal of New Drug to Fight TuberculosisJuly 29, 2013 – Approval of and access to delamanid is crucial while further research is pending NEW YORK, NY, U.S.A. – Treatment Action Group (TAG) is disappointed by the failure of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to recommend marketing approval for delamanid, a new drug in development for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). The drug, one of the first new compounds to fight tuberculosis (TB) in over 40 years, has demonstrated safety and clinical benefit against multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) in clinical trials to date. The decision by the CHMP was based on the duration of treatment (two months) in the phase IIb randomized controlled trial (Trial 204). It considered that the trial was too short to establish the effectiveness of delamanid in treating TB when added to other anti-TB medicines. Without new treatment options such as delamanid, treatment for people who have the disease will remain intolerable, toxic, lengthy, and ineffective, and patients—of which the European Union and its neighboring countries have many—will continue to die.

Preexposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Trial among Thai Injection Drug Users Marred by Lack of Response to Community ConcernsJune 26, 2013 – On June 12, results from an efficacy trial of tenofovir as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV infection in individuals with a self-reported history of injection drug use were published in the Lancet. The trial was sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and took place in Bangkok, Thailand (named the Bangkok Tenofovir Study). The publication was accompanied by a flurry of press releases and drew considerable news coverage due to the documentation of a statistically significant reduction in risk of HIV acquisition of 48.9%.

Treatment Action Group Lauds FDA Approval of First New Tuberculosis Drug in Half a CenturyDecember 31, 2012 – Treatment Action Group (TAG) applauds the accelerated approval today of bedaquiline, the first new approved drug to treat tuberculosis (TB) in over forty years, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The drug has the potential to improve the treatment for multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB, a particularly deadly and hard to treat form of TB that affects over a million people worldwide, and from which only about half of patients who are treated recover.

Treatment Action Group and European AIDS Treatment Group Applaud UNITAID Agreement to Reduce the Cost of GeneXpert Rapid TB TestCall for Further Price Cuts on Cartridges and Machines to Realize Goals of Zero TB deathsAugust 7, 2012 – Treatment Action Group (TAG) and the European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG) welcome the announcement that a deal has been reached among PEPFAR, USAID, UNITAID, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to reduce the price of the GeneXpert MTB/RIF rapid test for tuberculosis (TB). The partners to this collaborative market intervention have taken an important first step towards accelerating market entry to the molecular diagnostic system, which accurately diagnoses both TB and some common drug-resistance mutations, within two hours. But the still high cost of the machines and cartridges and the lack of private sector access greatly limit the reach and impact of this historic agreement.

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 21, 2012 – On the eve of the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., a new report by HIV i-Base (U.K.) and Treatment Action Group (TAG) (U.S.) reveals the deepening gulf between new scientific advances that make it possible to prevent, treat, and in some cases cure people living with HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), and tuberculosis (TB), and access to these where they are most needed.

Children with Drug-Resistant TB Make Up the Most Neglected Patient Population— Treatment Action Group Analysis Finds Global TB R&D Rose by Just 2% from 2009: Less than One-Third of the Global Need — Thursday, 22 March 2012 - In recognition of World Tuberculosis day on March 24th, Treatment Action Group (TAG) calls for the re-focusing of attention on the tremendous burden that tuberculosis (TB) plays around the world. TB is a disease of the poor – more than 80% of TB cases worldwide arise in the global south. According to the World Health Organization, nearly 4,000 people die every day because of TB. There were 8.8 million people newly diagnosed with TB in 2010, including 1.1 million cases among people with HIV – which, coupled with the emergence of drug resistant TB, including some untreatable strains – creates a deadly synergy. Despite this reality, investment in TB research has remained very low compared to the worldwide burden.

NEW YORK, NY – February 16, 2012. Treatment Action Group (TAG) is deeply disappointed by President Obama’s proposed cuts to PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) and bilateral TB funds, freezing of NIH (National Institutes of Health) research as well as the insufficient attention to the worsening domestic AIDS crisis in the administration's fiscal year 2013 budget plan. “This senselessly harsh budget will directly contribute to millions of preventable illnesses and deaths among people living with HIV, hepatitis C, and TB in the U.S. and around the world.” said Mark Harrington, Executive Director of TAG, “Why does President Obama want to turn his back on the most effective, life-saving global health and development program in history?"

We Need the Patent Pool to WorkA Joint Statement by Treatment Action Campaign, Treatment Action Group, HIV i-Base, European AIDS Treatment Group and SECTION27 November 16, 2011 – The exorbitant price of AIDS medicines, especially antiretrovirals, has been one of the main barriers to people with HIV accessing them, especially in developing countries. As activist organisations we have been at the forefront of many of the struggles to make medicines affordable.

Treatment Action Group Issues Latest Update on Global TB R&D Investment Trends2010 Funding Flat at $617 million, Less Than One-Third of the Global NeedOctober 26, 2011, LILLE, France – New data released by the Treatment Action Group (TAG) and the Stop TB Partnership finds that in 2010 the world spent just $617 million in tuberculosis (TB) research and development (R&D), or 0.3% less than 2009 funding levels—the first time TAG documents no growth since it began tracking TB research investments in 2005.

Funding for HIV treatment research exceeded US$2.4 billion in 2009July 19, 2011 – Data collected for the first time on global investments in HIV treatment-related research and development showed that at least US$ 2.46 billion was available in 2009. The Treatment Action Group, AVAC, and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) issued the report which was released at the International AIDS Society's 6th Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Prevention, and Treatment in Rome, Italy.

Poor Progress Means Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis Continues to Spread and Cost LivesJuly 7, 2011 – The global response to help countries scale up treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is underfunded and ineffective, according to a new report released today by three medical and medical advocacy organisations. A 20-month effort to reform the Green Light Committee Initiative, a World Health Organization (WHO)-hosted programme designed to help countries gain technical support for scale up of MDR-TB and access to quality-assured MDR-TB drugs, needs to be closely monitored to see if the reforms will address many key bottlenecks.